Rethinking Social Media Internships
During a presentation on technology, nonprofits, and free agents at the Personal Democracy Forum, Allison Fine commented that asking an intern to handle social media affairs is a poor use of the intern’s time and doesn’t encourage organizational buy in and capacity building when it comes to social media engagement. Instead, interns should mentor executives on how to use tools instead of simply throwing up a facebook page.
I like the idea of rethinking the role of a social media intern to create meaningful opportunities for both the intern and the organization. I’ve noticed a growing interest in social media with many organizations wanting to jump in to reach and expand their audience, and young people wanting to help out in a way that is familiar and fun. Aside from social media providing new opportunities for organizations and their supporters to act, it also allows the development of important skills such as verbal and written communication skills and the ability to collect and analyze data.
But a concern that I have is if young people, while knowing about social media, know how to use social media for organizational purposes. For example, personally I have done a decent job of using social media to connect with others and build my brand. How does this experience enable me to launch a social media campaign for an organization wanting to mobilize its audience? And when organizations want to get into social media, how much thought have they put into the goals they want to achieve beyond getting more fans and followers?
The current way many organizations craft social media internships speaks to how they view social media in general–something anyone can do with little commitment in terms of time or money. What if we reshaped this to be a learning opportunity for both the intern and the organization, with an emphasis on building social media capacity and interest within the organization and outside of it? What would some of the basic crucial aspects of social media internships be?
- Interns would make a long term commitment and be involved in organization, executives would commit to learning about social media
- Interns would provide support on technical aspects of social media, executives would share current marketing strategy and reasons for approach
- Interns would help gather data on social media sites to contribute to social media strategy, executives would share goals for outreach online and offline
- Interns and executives would pull in outside supporters to help grow social media engagement and opportunities for learning
- Interns and executives would communicate ideas and challenges with entire staff
- Interns and executives reflect on skills and lessons being learned
At the same time, is the idea of a social media internship itself outdated? In their presentation of their upcoming book Networked Nonprofit, Allison Fine and Beth Kanter suggests that free agents–people who are not attached to an organization but rather attached to the idea of using social media for social change–can help move organizations forward when using social media. Should we emphasize collaborating with other organizations and people instead of dwelling in house? Is this approach more empowering to young people wanting to use social media for social change and does it make sense when trying to scale impact?
What do you think of social media internships? Are there examples of well done internships? What are challenges in crafting them? Are they even worth it?
I”m so glad that you wrote this post. I’ve had a post in draft for a while about this topic- but I love your treatment of it.
I asked this question recently Toronto during a keynote and some of the suggestions in the audience pointed to a better “on boarding” process.
I remember back 10-15 years when Web 1.0 was working it way into nonprofit institutions. Before it became the norm to hire someone or make web site a part of someone’s job description, there were many web volunteers. The same issues happened – it was disconnected. Or volunteers would come in, set up a web site, but the organization never developed to capacity to maintain and sustain it.
So, I’m all for your awesome suggestion!
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ajlovesya Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Thanks for your comment, Beth! It’s interesting to see how this is a pattern when using new technology: drive-by set up without long term planning and investment. Yet, as you point out, once it became clear that it’s important to integrate the responsibility of managing a website into the organization itself, the approach to that aspect of technology changed. Maybe we’ll see something similar when it comes to social media? Are we seeing this already?
And congrats on the awesome book launch yesterday!
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I really appreciate the post, largely because I’ve just recently begun getting involved with nonprofits and only through the way of social media marketing. I think the underlying question is whether or not an organization conceives of social media as a long-term viable tool. If so, (and you or I might say yes, without question) then keeping somebody in-house to do that job/intern function makes a lot more sense than bringing in someone from the outside, at least in the long run. In my experience, I have performed social media duties as an extension to more traditional organizational development and fundraising. While it’s certain that not many organizations can afford a regular, paid staff member devoted solely to social media, I think the time will come when that person will be involved in either the tech/web development side of things or development. It seems more sustainable than having a consultant come in for a period of time, and most orgs just don’t have the capacity to distribute social media duties amongst their small staffs.
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ajlovesya Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
I agree with you Karina, and thanks for commenting. Something else that came up in Allison and Beth’s presentation is the role of consultants as well. They should be using their expertise to help nonprofits figure out how to invest in social media rather than doing the work for them. At the same time, I love the point that you bring up about social media: it takes a great deal of time and money that not all nonprofits can afford. The impression is that social media, since many of the sites are free, is easy and cheap yet many organizations are finding that this simply isnt true. Is it worth it, then, to get into social media if you cant invest in it? Is there a range of involvement that can accommodate the different needs of nonprofits?
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You need someone who understands the organization, can shape the overall social media strategy, and who is a long-term contact for the organization to direct the social media activity.
But interns can help provide support – research connections, analyze data, create buzz, and help identify new tools and processes. Also, I’ve found that while many interns understand how to use the different social media tools out there, they often benefit from training in communications strategy.
Bottom line, well-crafted internships are useful in training people how to develop and implement a communications strategy and how to measure the impact of that strategy. And if you get the right people as interns, they will remain advocates for your work after they leave your organization.
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ajlovesya Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Absolutely, Laura and I think your approach can certainly apply to all internships, not just social media ones. When interns come in with a basic skill set, the experience can be used to develop their skills, contribute to organization and learning can take place all around.
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To echo a bit of Laura above, if the goal is capacity building, I don’t think “social media” is the proper perspective from which to build a successful internship. From my experience in administering the Digital Arts Service Corps, projects described within a strategic communications framework were more successful (capacity building/sustainable on the organization side and higher personal satisfaction on the individual side) than projects described by social media.
E.g. projects were more successful when they were framed as “identify and engage an audience whose participation furthers the organization’s strategic goals” as opposed to “create an online audience using tools X, Y and Z”.
I especially agree with your “crucial aspects of social media internships”, but those activities must be baked into the internship workplan from Day 1. As a result of so many applications for social media support last year, we added what turned out to be one of the most telling questions of our application this year:
“Describe the basis for your approach to this project. How did you determine the need for this project now and who was included in its design?”
We noticed a major difference in the quality of roles and workplans between projects that were a result of “we thought it would be a good idea” and “it came out of a series of planning sessions between board, executives, staff and community members”. Engagement breeds engagement. While we won’t know the ultimate success of those projects for another year, we’re confident that taking a broader perspective will lead to more successful projects and satisfied individuals.
(Aside: are interns and organizations coming into social media projects with realistic expectations? Not to be a buzzkill, but every time I see social media-framed proposal I want to send them this quote from Idealware’s social media survey: “Of all the options available, respondents considered Facebook the most-effective channel for fundraising, although only 41 percent felt that it was, in fact, effective.”)
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ajlovesya Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Wow, Ben thanks for these examples and insights. I especially like your point here: “identify and engage an audience whose participation furthers the organization’s strategic goals” as opposed to “create an online audience using tools X, Y and Z”.
We should focus on the audience instead of the tool. I think it’s easy to get caught up in using social media to the point where we miss the point of engagement in the first place. Maybe investing in social media isnt appropriate at the moment or energy should be spent in other places. Asking the right audience/community focused questions, as you did, helps find the right way to reach out.
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I’m glad to see this topic getting some air time! I recently did a post on it myself, about two weeks ago, but it was more in the context of the Department of Labor’s increased regulation of summer internships that are unpaid. Nonprofits usually get around these restrictions by legally classifying their interns as “volunteers,” but providing proper training is still critical. I personally think social media internships are here to stay, and that we need to develop resources for nonprofits to use in identifying proper roles and activities for them. In addition to the roles you discussed in your post, I would also recommend that interns/volunteers be given the more pedestrian administrative duties that usually go along with posting on blogs and social sites, such as finding appropriate photos, template creation, blog monitoring, etc. As state budgets tighten up and nonprofits are being asked to contribute more to their coffers, interns and volunteers will become more important than ever, and their effective use could even become a competitive advantage. Thanks for bringing this issue to light! You can see my SM Internship post at http://www.NonprofitMissionCast.com.
Thanks!
Lisa Cole
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ajlovesya Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Thanks, Lisa and I’ll be sure to check out your post. The distinction between intern and volunteer is certainly getting a lot of attention given the DOL’s increased regulation (correct me if Im wrong but isnt the main requirement that an organization not benefit directly from an intern’s work? That it must be structured primarily to educate/train the intern?). In restructuring social media internships-and internships in general-is this a concern we should be more mindful of?
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I’m in agreement here as well. There is certainly a learning curve for non-profits utilizing the social web. The passage “…social media in general–something anyone can do with little commitment in terms of time or money” particularly stands out. While most are familiar with social media because it is part of their daily personal lives, we cannot expect those people to have expertise in communication or know what’s best from an organizational strategic perspective. We would never expect those staff members to design posters, pitch the press, or handle programming. However, we can utilize their talent, ideas, and personal experiences to promote the cause/company, etc. Well done!
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Great post! It’s funny, we have 2 social media interns working for us this summer at my org (The Nature Conservancy). I’m a big fan of making internships worth while. I think the key is to give them something they can own and build from the ground up.
Two of the main projects they’re working on this summer are building out our strategy for geo-location, so how can we market and use our nature preserves as a key destination within the social networking space? The second big project deals with setting social media guidelines, rules of conduct, enforcement, etc. We’ve got one intern who’s heading off to law school, so that last project fits perfectly with his interests. Both of these projects require strategic thinking and will have an immediate and long-term impact on our organization’s marketing plan.
That brings up a good point… as a social media hiring manager you also have a responsibility to see what your intern is interested in, and give them exposure to that interest in the business environment. One of my interns loves photography, so I’m actively looking for how she can apply her passion to her internship role.
Last comment – you need to introduce them to people within the organization, so they feel connected to the people that believe in your mission. That’s probably one of the easiest ways to retain great talent!
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